Recycling will take centre stage next week, as we celebrate Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week.

The annual event, running from 9 to 15 November, reminds communities of the importance of recycling right and keeping rubbish away from landfill.

In addition to our weekly yellow bin, Council has a range of extra recycling options for its residents, including:

• Quarterly Recycling Drop Off events to dispose of bulky cardboard that won’t fit in the bin;
• Annual Household Chemical CleanOut event (14 February 2021); and
• Drop Off Stations for batteries, mobile phones and printer cartridges located at Council’s libraries and Oran Park Administration Building.

Mayor of Camden, Cr Theresa Fedeli, said it was a great opportunity to remind residents of how they can help the environment through recycling.

“To remove the confusion around what bit goes in what bin, residents can check the Australasian Recycling Label appearing on more and more packets and containers recently,” Cr Fedeli said.

“I encourage the community to keep recycling the proper way and help our future generations live the way we do today.”

Residents are also reminded to properly recycle their goods. Some common mistakes include:

• Plastic bags cannot be recycled in the yellow bin, even if they have the numbered triangle. Soft plastics can jam the sorting machines once at the recycling facility. Soft plastics should go into the red-lidded garbage bin. Better still, soft plastics including your plastic shopping bags can be recycled through the REDcycle collection bin at participating supermarkets;
• Dirty containers cannot go in the yellow bin. Plastic and glass containers should at the very least be empty and relatively clean. If needed, simply rinse with used dishwater once the dishes are done!
• Tissues, hand towels and napkins cannot go in the yellow bin. Unlike other paper and cardboard products, tissues, hand towels and napkins are generally made of paper fibres that have been recycled up to seven times already. At this point the fibres are too short to be recycled yet again. Furthermore, paper towels and napkins tend to be soiled with food and oil, so they have to go into the red-lidded garbage bin.
• Polystyrene foam cannot go in the yellow bin. While polystyrene foam is a plastic it cannot be recycled through the yellow-lidded recycling bin. If you can’t avoid polystyrene packaging, consider taking your polystyrene to a Community Recycling Centre or Council’s next Recycling Drop Off Event.

For more information on recycling, visit camden.nsw.gov.au and search ‘Waste Services’.